With the end of July approaching, the end of the operations for the last Air France B747-300 is also getting closer.

One aircraft, F-BTDG, has already been retired from service. It was ferried to XCR (Châlons / Vatry ) last June 29th and will be scrapped.

The career of F-BTDH is acutally ironically extended by the tragedy in Lebanon :
The aircraft left its Paris-Orly base for CDG, from where it is used to operate the evacuations flights LCA-CDG for people escaping Lebanon ...
After this last humanitary mission achieved, It will be retired from service and scrapped.

The Air France titles and colorscheme has already been withdrawn from the last two B747-300 F-GETA and F-GETB, though they are still used by AF to operate a Daily ORY-FDF-ORY, and additionnal domestic flights for the summer season.
When a 4th replacement B773ER will be delivered in the comming days, they will fly away to their new owner, somewhere in the US ...

Its upper deck was stretched to convert it into a B743 or more precisely a B747-200SUD in September 1989.
It has the particularlity to be briefly used by UTA as -Combi, carrying 11 palets, instead of the standard 7. The Cargo section starts at the Door 3, and not Door 4 like on all others -Combi, as shown on this picture :

F-GETA
msn 632. delivered to UTA in January 1986. It's a "real" B747-300 Combi, used as such by UTA, but also as an All-PAX aircraft. It was used on the South-East Asian routes with the "Big Boss" nick name, as opposed to SQ's "Big Top"..

msn 641. Delivered to UTA in April 1986. It's UTA's second "real" B747-300 "Big Boss", fitted like the three others with a SCD.
It was transferred to UTA's 100% subsidiary charter division "Aéromaritime" in October 1988.

F-BTDG, F-BTDH, F-GETA, F-GETB were all transferred to Air France when UTA was fully integrated to AF in 1992.
Briefly used on AF's long-haul network, They were soon reconfigured into an all-PAX aircraft (22 J / 60 S "Alizée" Premium Economy at the upper deck, 425 M Tempo Vacances) to be used exclusively on the Carribean AF's network.
During the last past 5 years, they were based at Orly Airport and operated almost only on the FDF & PTP routes.

I cant believe 743's are being scrapped when 742's are still in operation, why dont some of the 742 operators buy these and retire their less economical 742's. It would make good sense for a short term replacement

The cost per seat is lower on a B743 just because it can carry more passengers, thanks to the stretched upper deck (on the other hand, the range is reduced) ... but technically, they are vey similar as there are very minor improvements between the -200 and -300, compared to the improvements between -200 & -400.
Note also that, just like the -200, the -300 still has a 3 men cockpit crew.